Illuminate My Shadow
by xAngel-Of-Nightx
Summary: Hayley Stevens was perfectly average until a strange butterfly encounter in the woods changes her life forever. Does she have what it takes to be a super-hero, or will she fall like so many before her have? WarrenxOC
1. Prologue

**Summary: **Hayley Stevens was perfectly average until a strange butterfly encounter in the woods changes her life forever. Does she have what it takes to be a super-hero, or will she fall like so many before her have? WarrenxOC

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sky High or any of the characters. :( But I do own Hayley and her crazy family! :D

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

I lived an exceedingly average life. Don't get me wrong, I had some excitement every once in a while. That is, if starting high school, getting ready to get my motorcycle license, and turning sixteen can be counted as excitement. I mean, if I wasn't completely socially challenged, and I had a butt-load of money to buy a bike I could actually ride and throw an amazing party, then it would be exciting. No, instead I have no friends, no motorcycle, and I'd never had a single party my entire life.

It wasn't like I had planned for my life to be this lame; it had just happened. Though I'm pretty sure a lot of people would think it's my fault that my life is like this, I blame my dad. When I was eight and my little brother, Josh, was only one year old, my dad left; no warning, no explanation. He was just gone. Josh was too little to remember, but I do. I remember it every day. It's one of those memories where once you've witnessed it, you want to get it out of your head, but that just makes it stay that much more fresh and concrete.

When my dad left, he took everything with him. He cleared out all of our bank accounts, and sped away in our only car. My mother was heart-broken. When she came home from work – she always took the bus – and found out that he had left, she started to crack. We had all loved him _so much_, and he had just left. When we found out about all of our money being gone, things started to get bad. My mom realized she had to suck it up and get over her grief so that Josh and I wouldn't be starved and homeless. She started picking up extra jobs wherever she could, taking in as much income as possible. As soon as I was of age, I started working too. We barely made it by, but that was okay for now.

I hardly ever see my mom anymore. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss her, because I do, so much, and I wish that she didn't have to work at all and that my dad hadn't left and we could all at least pretend to be a happy family instead of this broken thing that we got left with. But wishing is for the stars and they outshine me far too much for any wish I ever have to matter.

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><p><strong>So, this is a new story that I've actually been working on for a while now. I told myself that I would wait until I had at least half of the story done before I posted this but I just couldn't help myself. :)This is Sky High - obviously - which I have never even attempted to try and write before, but this story line just popped into my head one day and WILL NOT go away. Seriously, it's kind of annoying how often I'm thinking of it. <strong>

**Expect slow updates. I already have two chapters written and am working on the third as we speak, but don't expect something every other day. I over-analyze, am lazy, slow, and easily distracted. It's amazing I've even written this much. Anyways, excuse any grammatical errors that may occur through-out the story, because until I say someone edited it, it wasn't really edited. And, I'll probably post the next chapter either over the weekend or around the beginning of next week. **

**Sooo, until then! *salutes***

**^.^**

**~A-O-N~  
><strong>

**(P.S. Reviews make my day!)**


	2. Chapter One: Conspecific

**Summary: **Hayley Stevens was perfectly average until a strange butterfly encounter in the woods changes her life forever. Does she have what it takes to be a super-hero, or will she fall like so many before her have? WarrenxOC

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sky High which also means I can never have Warren. But I do own Hayley and a bunch of weirdo insects. :/ And for some reason that just doesn't make me feel all that better right now...

**Previously:** _But wishing is for the stars and they outshine me far too much for any wish I ever have to matter._

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Conspecific<strong>

I hit my alarm, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I checked the time, letting out a puff of air. 3:20. How is it that I managed to ignore my alarm for twenty minutes?

Pushing the thin blanket off of me, I set my feet on the dingy carpet, stretching. I was going to be late. I blinked a few times, trying to get into my rush mode. If I didn't make it to Coffee Daze in thirty minutes I had a 100% chance of losing my job. I hastily made my way to the shower, not even bothering to wait for the water to get hot. After that I put on my tacky uniform, and pulled my hair up into a quick bun. Stuffing my school outfit into my bag in case I worked late, I took a quick look in the mirror.

My green eyes had permanent dark circles under them, and my blond hair looked greasy. The uniform washed out my ultra-white skin, and I had a pimple forming right above my left eyebrow. I looked like crap, as usual. I applied some cheap dollar store cover-up, and then rushed out of my room, closing the door along the way.

"Good morning, Hayley." My mom said, sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Ma." I replied back weakly. This was about the only time I ever saw my mom. She worked her first job from four to twelve then her second from one to ten. Her third was only on the weekends and was pretty much all night.

"You headed to work?" She asked meekly, looking up from her coffee. If I thought I had looked bad, then she looked unspeakable. Her brown hair was pulled up in a tight pony-tail with scraggly grey hairs starting to appear and stick out everywhere. Her once rich and youthful face was pale and hollow. The bags under her eyes made mine look like a restful sleep.

"Yeah… I have to go. I'm already running late." I opened the front door. "Bye, Mom. Love you." I didn't wait for a reply, if there even was one.

I walked over to our garage, kicking the door before even attempting to open it. I walked inside, pulled my eighty year old bike out, and took off.

~0~

"Hello, and welcome to Coffee Daze. May I take your order?" I tried to add some peppiness into my voice, but it wasn't working.

"Ah, yes. Can I have a Grande Caffé Mocha with no whip and a… would you make up your mind already. No, you douche. Fine, whatever. And I'd like a Grande Caramel Macchiato with extra caramel, skim milk, mocha drizzle, two shots of espresso, and no whip-cream." I was trying to control my laughter until he said the last part. Now I just felt like smacking the idiot who would come up with an order like that.

I quickly told the man his total after being shot down at trying to get rid of our nasty blueberry scones. Seriously, scones are just gross.

To say I hated this job was a little harsh. I just… strongly disliked it. The pay sucked, the drinks were way over-rated – yet still extremely delicious – and the people were generally overly snobbish. If you thought growing up in a semi-small town such as Maxville would make everyone act like the friendly next door neighbor then you were wrong. People were just as stuck up in small towns as in big cities.

At 6:30 I clocked out and rushed home. I pulled into the drive-way, and put the kick stand up before going inside. All the windows were closed and the house had an over-all abandoned look to it. I couldn't really blame it. My mother and I never had the time to clean it anymore and I couldn't make Josh do it.

I walked into his room to find him still passed out. "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" I said with a cheesy grin, pulling open the blinds. Josh moved around a bit before finally cracking one eye open.

"What time is it?" he croaked. His messy brown hair was tousled and falling into his green eyes.

"Time to wake up." I was met with a deadly glare. "Fine, it's nearly seven, so get your butt up. You have to be at the bus by 7:30 or they're going to leave you again. Do you really want a repeat?" I asked with a smirk. He was out of the bed faster than I could say ninja.

Twenty minutes later I was locking up the house and on my bike headed towards school. Generally it was pretty lame and all the classes sucked. The only thing the teachers really cared about was their next promotion and the only thing the students cared about was who was having sex with who under the bleachers. The only class that I actually enjoyed was photography. The teacher, Mrs. Hansen was amazing. You could tell that she actually cared and loved what she was doing. She also was extremely personal, and, on more than one occasion, I actually forgot that she was supposed to be my teacher and not my friend.

Eventually school ended and I had two hours to kill before I had to be at my next job. After taking a detour to my house to change and make sure Josh was okay, I started for the park. See, we had this really amazing park that was right next to two miles of untouched forest. It was my favorite place to go.

As I entered, I got off my bike, hiding it in some bush. I started down the familiar path deeper into the woods. It was gorgeous here. The forest was full of life. All of the trees were a lovely shade of green and if you listened closely you could hear the movements from the different animals.

A beautifully colored butterfly flew past me, and I admired it until it was out of sight. Butterflies were extremely common in the forest for some reason and each so different look from the next.

I slowed my pace as I finally reached my destination. A small creek flowed through the area and at this exact point, a bank had been made and a tree had conveniently fallen and turned into the perfect bench. Over the years I had made a few adjustments here and there. Like, I added a make-shift swing and had a little fire-pit in an area I had cleared out. I could live out here if I needed to.

Plopping myself down onto the log, I let out a long breath. I already felt exhausted and the day was only half-way over. I closed my eyes, folding my legs. A few years ago I had met an old Chinese woman at the park who taught me the art of Tai Chi and meditation. I've never forgotten.

I was started to get deep into my peaceful nothingness when I felt a light touch on my knee. Peeking one eye open, I looked down at my knee. On it was the beautiful butterfly that I had seen earlier. I tried not to move a muscle as I admired it. It was rather large, and mainly jet black with some orange and blue dots on its back wings. It really was gorgeous.

Finally, it flew away and I let out a sigh. For some reason I felt sad that it had left, as if it was a piece of me being taken away. I was about to get up when something strange happened; something mind-blowing.

Off in the near-distance I could see a giant ball of color headed in my direction. As it got closer I discovered that it wasn't a giant ball, but a massive swarm of butterflies. When they reached me they broke apart circling around me. I let out a laugh, standing up and twirling around. As I spun I looked at all of them, taking in their colors and the fact that not a single one looked like the others. They were all unique.

One by one, they started to land on me. For a second, I felt like screaming, but then remembered just how harmless butterflies were. I stood perfectly still, then slowly moved my head down to look at my body. From head to toe, I was covered in butterflies. There was not an inch of open skin on me. I closed my eyes, soaking up the extreme unlikeliness of the situation.

Just as my muscles started to cramp up a little, the butterflies rose, hovering around me. They started to fly in circles again, moving impossibly fast and making me dizzy.

"No, stop! I can't see!" I yelled, as some strange powder started to block my vision. I closed my eyes, but I could still feel them around me. Falling to the ground, I clawed at the dirt.

"Make it stop, make it stop, please make it stop." I chanted. I felt like I might puke and my vision was starting to fade around the edges. Just before my world went black I saw something that made no sense what-so-ever. Something large blocked the sun before covering me up. It was in the shape of a butterfly.

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><p><strong>Being completely honest here, I was totally oblivious to that fact that pretty much an entire week had gone by and I had yet to post this. In my head it had only been a couple of days. (That just shows you how jacked up my sense of time is.) So, pretty much, I just wanted to let you know that I'm D-U-M. (That was for my deardeardear friend Brie, who I love to death, though I doubt she'll ever actually read this.)<strong>

**Anyways. Again, this has not been edited. I mean, I looked through it a couple of times and my woderfulamazingfantastical Word program fixed most of the spelling. (I can't spell worth poopie. It's kinda sad actually.) I don't know what I would do without Word. Seriously. **

**Continuing. Expect another update around this time next week. Well, not this time exactly because, for me anyways, it's like, hecka crazy early in the morning, but you get what I mean. Gosh... that sentence had way too many comma's to be legal. Yeah, so, I know I'm babbling, but it's late, and I just can't seem to stop. Um... there was something else I felt the need to say but I just can't seem to remember right now so... yeah. Bye. **

**~A-O-N~**

**^.^**

**(P.S. I remember. Review. Or I'll send some crazy butterflies after you! Please?)**


	3. Chapter Two: Convergent Evolution

**Summary: **Hayley Stevens was perfectly average until a strange butterfly encounter in the woods changes her life forever. Does she have what it takes to be a super-hero, or will she fall like so many before her have? WarrenxOC

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sky High or Warrens deliciousness. :( However, I do own a crazy Asian lady! :D

**Previously: **_"Make it stop, make it stop, please make it stop." I chanted. I felt like I might puke and my vision was starting to fade around the edges. Just before my world went black I saw something that made no sense what-so-ever. Something large blocked the sun before covering me up. It was in the shape of a butterfly._

**This is dedicated to ****wouldyoufancymystory for being the only person to review as of yet. **_  
><em>

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Convergent Evolution<strong>

I let out a groan as I lifted my head, completely disoriented. All I knew was that everything was green and brown – so not my room's color theme – and that I was in a lot of pain. I sat up, remember what had happened to me before I passed out.

_A giant butterfly? Pff… that's crazy_, I thought, but I just couldn't completely convince myself. If it was possible for super-beings to exist, why couldn't giant butterflies?

As I got up, trying to ignore the pain traveling through my body a sudden thought hit me: work. I was definitely late – the sun was setting already – and I wouldn't be surprised if Mei Chen, my boss and Tai Chi teacher, fired me.

Running, I made it to my bike in record time. I hopped onto it, speeding off towards the Paper Lantern. I had scored this job after getting to know Mei a little and realizing that she had a restaurant that was in desperate need of a waitress. I asked if I could have the job to which she responded with something about my spirit. I'm not really sure…

Dropping my bike behind the building, I rushed in through the back door, almost running into Mei. She turned around giving me a very disapproving look.

"Now, I know American very busy, but this is job. If you no want job, quit. Don't not show up. Make me very angry. Had to call Warren to do job." She said in very broken English.

"I know, I'm _so sorry_! Just please, let me take the rest of my shift. You know how badly I need this money," And she did. I'd told her all about my family problems when I'd almost had a breakdown about a year ago.

"Fine, fine. You tell Warren to wash dishes. Pile getting too big." She then proceeded to walk off, muttering to herself in Chinese.

With a shrug of my shoulders I went to find Warren. I'd spoken to him a few times, but I didn't really know anything about him other than the fact that he was Mei's grandson and like me, he kept to himself. Mei always complained about the fact that he was going to end up all alone.

Walking up behind him, I poked him in the back. "Hey Warren, Mei wanted me to tell you that she wants you to go wash the dishes. And um… thanks for taking my shift. If no one and covered for me I probably would of gotten fired just now, no matter how fond Mei is of me." Warren just nodded his head, acknowledging that he'd heard me, and then walked off in the direction of the kitchen. Well, he never was much of a talker.

After that, my night pretty much consisted of taking orders and serving food. At nine I clocked out, shouting a goodbye to Mei. I hoped on my bike, getting home in about twenty minutes.

Once I put my bike up, I walked inside the house to find it pitch black. Kicking off my shoes, I flipped on the light, setting my key down on the dining table.

"Josh, you home?" I called out. It wouldn't be all that strange if he wasn't. He liked to stay over at his friend, Matt's, house a lot. When I got no answer I assumed that that's where he must be.

Plopping onto the sofa I let out a huff of air. Today had sucked, a little more than usual, I might add. When that train of thought my mind instantly went to the woods. I'd come to the conclusion that I had probably just fallen asleep and dreamt everything up, because something like that could and would never happen to me. I mean, a giant butterfly just flew out of the sky and attacked me in the woods after a bunch of butterflies had just circled around me? It sounded completely crazy and, if I told anyone, could make me end up at the psych ward of some creepy hospital.

I no longer felt like dwelling on the thought, and moved on to things of the present. I was completely exhausted, and still had some homework that I needed to complete because of my earlier… adventure, that had taken up so much of my time.

Finally, an hour later I was to where I could go to bed. I went over to my dresser, stripping, then looking for some of my PJ's. Just as I located my plaid shorts I noticed something in the mirror behind me. There was something huge on my back. I was about to start freaking, but made myself calm down. The last thing I needed was the neighbors to come because they thought someone was being murdered.

I turned to where my back was completely facing the mirror and slowly turned my head, not really sure if I wanted to see or not. What I saw was definitely the last thing I had expected. Now, if you asked me what I was expecting, I'd probably tell you a big bug or maybe even a bruise, but definitely not a tattoo. A giant tattoo in the shape of wings, to be exact. It started in the middle of my back and stretched all the way across, its top wings wrapping around my shoulders. As I looked down I noticed that the bottom wings touched at my belly-button. It was extremely detailed and colorful, with many different shades of green and blue, along with splashes of orange, white, and black. I lightly traced my fingers across one of the many detailed designs, in complete awe. It was breath-taking. When I came to the part across my stomach I noticed that the edges were slightly raised. I felt across the outline of what I could reach and realized the entire outside was that way.

When my examination came to an end I put on a shirt and calmly sat on my bed. So, today not only I had been attacked by some crazy butterfly, but I also gained some crazy tattoo-thingy most likely from that event. As my brain tried to process it, reality finally sat in.

I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and was rewarded with a painful sting that would probably leave a bruise. With that being a failed attempt at trying to rationalize this impossible situation, I moved onto the next idea. That this was all real, and that everything that happened was true. The thought filled me with a mixture of emotions, but mainly fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what I thought to be impossible.

I suddenly felt extremely lightheaded as my vision began to cloud around the edges. Before I could even fully process what was happening I was lying in a heap on my bed. I had passed out. Again.

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><p><strong>Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know. I am forever the worst updater ever. And I have no excuses either. This document has been finished and waiting to be posted ever since I put the Prologue on here. So, over-all, I'm a horrible person. I know. But I can live with myself.<strong>

**I know you hear this a lot, but it would seriously mean a ton to me if y'all would review. I really want to hear your feedback and ideas, because I'm not even exactly sure where it is that I'm taking this story. I want you all to be as much a part of this as I am.**

**Also, I'm aware that these chapters aren't all that long, but these are mostly just fillers and setting everything up. Once the actual story can start they will start to - hopefully - get longer.  
><strong>

**Forgive my mistakes. This, again, is pretty much unedited.**

**^.^**

**~A-O-N~  
><strong>


	4. Chapter Three: Dorsal

**Summary: **Hayley Stevens was perfectly average until a strange butterfly encounter in the woods changes her life forever. Does she have what it takes to be a super-hero, or will she fall like so many before her have? WarrenxOC

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sky High. That's it.

**Previously: **_I suddenly felt extremely lightheaded as my vision began to cloud around the edges. Before I could even fully process what was happening I was lying in a heap on my bed. I had passed out. Again._

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Dorsal<strong>

When I awoke the next morning you could say I was more than a little confused. My alarm was blaring, and when I went to turn it off all I was met with was air. I tried a few more times only to fail before I finally opened my bleary eyes. My room looked strangely different, as if everything had been moved down, and there was this weird fluttering noise that wouldn't go away.

As my body became more aware of the fact that this was not normal, my mind started to lose the fuzzy haze that had been surrounding it. I sat up and looked down, only to realize that I was six feet up in the air, hovering above my bed. I let out a scream but quickly slapped my hand over my mouth to silence myself before I alarmed someone, or woke up my brother.

Realizing that the fluttering noise was still going, I became rather annoyed. Looking around – while still sitting six feet in the air – I noticed that the noise seemed to be coming from behind me. Glancing back I saw something that blew my mind more than anything I'd ever experienced. What used to be tattoos the night before had somehow turned into actual wings!

My breath started to come in short gasps and I could feel the signs of a panic attack about to start, but I forced myself to calm down. I couldn't be a baby about this. I had to face this like a man. Well, figuratively speaking here. I had to face this like a wo-man. A little better.

I had to think. Yeah, so what if I had giant flapping wings that gave me the ability to fly? Who cares? No big deal. Right? Right… Wait. I could fly? How awesome is that? Some irrational side of me had always wanted to fly, and now I could do it. That had to outweigh some negative side-effect that was sure to come from this. Like… my family! What the heck was I supposed tell my family? _Hey mom, how's it going? By the way, I have giant wings that magically sprout out of my back and give me the ability to fly. _Yeah, that would go just peachy. Not.

I tried filling my mind with other thoughts, like how to get down from my _freaking ceiling!_ That would definitely be a good place to start. How had I managed to get up here in the first place? Did I think happy thoughts or something? I laughed at my lame Peter Pan joke, feeling utterly lost.

After about ten wasted minutes of thinking of every completely ridiculous fairy tale explanation I finally decided to look at it %100 rationally. Maybe, like my muscles, I could control them. Just send a message with my brain and they would move.

Closing my eyes, I thought about getting them to move, willing them to bring me down. When I felt the air shift I let out an exclamation of surprise. It had worked. It had actually worked. I was slowly, but surely, being lowered until I was sitting back on my bed. The first thing that popped into my head was for me to kiss the ground, but I shoved it away. That could wait until _after _I could get the magical wings to disappear and for my life to step out of a bad Disney movie.

I tried to imagine them just kind of… _growing_ back into my body. I thought of the tattoo I had seen on my back and the wings just fusing together with my skin, and after a minute I started to feel a weird tingle on my back. Turning to face the mirror, I saw that the wings were gone. _Thank you sweet baby Jesus_.

How was I supposed to hide this? I could never wear tank-tops again or anything with a revealing neckline or short sleeves. Oh God, I was about to become a little emo kid who only wore turtle-necks and really ugly faded sweat-shirts. _Kill me_. There had to be a way around this. I could always just tell people that I got a tattoo, but there's also the obvious problem of my mom and brother, and the fact that I seem to have a pretty crappy control over this stupid "power".

The more I thought about the whole problem the more obvious it became. I was going to have to tell my mother.

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><p><strong>Yes, this is really short. Sorry. School's been harder than ever and only getting tougher. Seriously. It sucks. Anyways, I just wanted you all to know that I haven't given up on this story. It's just becoming incredibly impossible to write. <strong>

**Also, this was less edited than normal, because I was in a rush to post this, so please forgive any errors. **

**Sincerely, **

**^.^**

**~A-O-N~  
><strong>


	5. Chapter Four: Morphology

**Summary: **Hayley Stevens was perfectly average until a strange butterfly encounter in the woods changes her life forever. Does she have what it takes to be a super-hero, or will she fall like so many before her have? WarrenxOC

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sky High or any of it's characters. But I do own my mysterious, unknown plot line.

**Previously: **_The more I thought about the whole problem the more obvious it became. I was going to have to tell my mother._

__**This is dedicated to 122 for being such an awesome friend and editing this for me and wanting to read this. Thanks. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Morphology<strong>

I guess you could say the talk with my mom went a little different then I had expected.

After calling in sick at work, I walked out to the kitchen and calmly sat down next to my mom like I wasn't about to tell her that magical wings had sprouted out of my back overnight. I tried to be as cool and collected as possible, but when she finally looked up from her coffee cup I knew I had failed.

"Uh, hey, Mom," I said, taking in an unnecessary gulp of air. This was worse than having the sex talk.

"Hello, Hayley. I thought you had to be at work a few minutes ago," she said, lifting her pale, worn arm and putting a piece of hair that had fallen out of her pony-tail behind her ear.

"Yeah, well, I called in sick today. I wanted to get to talk to you and now seemed like the best time," I replied, shifting uncomfortably in my chair. I generally sucked at lying, no matter how tiny it was.

"What'd you want to talk about?" she asked, giving me her full attention.

This was where things got kind of tricky. I started out by casually trying to explain it to her, but the longer she looked at me the more frantic and sporadic my explanation became. By the end I felt like a big jumbled mess of goo, completely humiliated and afraid. What if she didn't believe me? What if she hated me or thought I was disgusting? The huge possibility for rejection scared me. She was my mother. I needed her even though it didn't always seem like it.

During the middle of my speech my body had become extremely rigid in my chair, my eyes staring directly at my hands, which were doing a pretty good job at picking apart a loose seem on the old shirt I had decided to wear today. I didn't want to look up, afraid of the stare that I would be met with.

"Hayley, would you stop messing with that shirt and look at me?" her voice came out oddly soothing even though she spoke a demand, and my head shot up. She didn't _sound _disbelieving or disgusted…

"Can I see them?" she said, her voice giving absolutely nothing away. Without speaking a word, I stood up, raised my shirt up to my neck, pulling my blond hair out of the way. I stood like that for a minute before I started to get worried again.

After _another _minute of silence, I was convinced. She hated me. Pulling my shirt down roughly, I spun around, hurt written across my face. "You hate me, don't you? Don't deny it." Her mouth opened and closed a few times, making me irrationally angry. Why couldn't she talk to me? Did she think I was so beneath her that she couldn't even speak to me?

"Fine. Don't talk. That's cool with me. I guess I'll just pack up my stuff and leave then, because you're just way too good for me!" I yelled, bitter. I felt the angry tears well up and blinked them back in frustration. Crying was a sign of weakness, one I couldn't even afford to show my mother.

It was when I turned around and began to stomp to my room that she finally spoke. "Hayley, hold it right there young lady!" I froze. "Now turn around and look at your mother." I turned. "Good," she said, her eyes almost twinkling and confusing the heck out of me. She stood up, slowly walking over to me and putting her hands on my shoulders. "I love you, and nothing you could do or say is going to change that. This," she said, gesturing to my back, "is fantastic news! You're a Super, Hayley! You're special." I felt my eyes well up again with unshed tears. I couldn't believe that I doubted my mom. She was incredible, and amazing, and so strong.

"I love you too, mom." I replied, throwing my arms around her waist and burying my head into her shoulder.

"Oh! I have something for you," she said, going over to her purse, rummaging through it before pulling out a small piece of paper. "Here," she placed it in my hand, before patting it and returning to her coffee like the whole conversation had never occurred.

I looked down at it, reading the small print. "What is it?" I asked, completely confused.

"That," she said, "is the number for Sky High."

~0~

After school I called the number. It rang five times before anyone answered the phone. A woman named Mrs. Powers talked to me, and we came up with a meeting time for the next day so I could show her my powers. If I really had any, she said I would be going to Sky High by next Monday.

I'm not going to lie, I was more than nervous. What if my powers didn't work? What if she didn't think I was good enough? If that happened I'd never learn how to control it and I'd always have to hide in isolation, never getting close to anyone. I didn't want that. I didn't want that at all, because that's not a life.

I heard a knock at the door, and stood up, dusting off my clothes before going to answer it. I'd tried to spruce up the house a little bit, but I don't think I did a very good job. When I opened the door, I was close to having a nervous breakdown.

Mrs. Powers was a really pretty person. I mean, not that I expected her to be ugly or anything, but she was _really _pretty. Her face was made up to perfection with bright red lipstick, her hair was poofed up to a T, and her ultra-white suit looked brand new.

"Hello, I'm Principal Powers," she said, sticking out her hand in a very business-like manner. I took it, shaking it lightly before letting go. She came in, and we got to the point. "I have to say, that I've never seen any power exactly like this before. Close, but never quite. How did you get this?" I told her about the giant butterfly, terrified that she would think my story was a lie. "Well, I've never heard that one before, but I don't think you have any reason to lie about what happened to you." I let out a breath, finally starting to feel relaxed.

"So, does this mean I'm going to Sky High?" I asked, giving her a hopeful look.

She let out a laugh before replying, "Yes, yes it does. You'll be in the hero classes, and when you arrive on Monday your schedule should be in the main office." She turned towards the door and put her hand on the knob. "Oh, and Miss Stevens," she said, glancing behind her, "good luck."

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><p><strong>Wow. Hi. I'm so blown away by the fact that I went from having like, 2-3 reviews to having 13! it just makes me happy, and this is only my 4th chapter. I'm sorry that this took so long, but that's just how the world works, and I have it now, so no complaining. Although, if complaining is the only way to make you comment... complain away. Know you all have voices makes me happy. Although just knowing that ya'll found this good enough to follow overjoys me as well. It's good to know that I'm not just talking to myself all the time and that someone is seeing and appreciates my hard work.<strong>

**Live long and prosper.**

**^.^**

**~A-O-N~**


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